Right now, the cheapest way to rent a car in Munich is an app called “Miles.” They charge by the kilometer instead of the minute, gas is included, and they offer affordable multi-day packages, too. There is only one problem: You can’t reserve the cars in advance. “On demand” means on demand.
This puts you into a bit of a pickle whenever you’ve planned a weekend trip: Do you book a car elsewhere, which you have to collect, refuel, etc, but which you know you’ll actually get, or do you try your luck with Miles, which’ll be much cheaper and efficient, but where access to a car near you is not guaranteed? Usually, the latter works out fine. So far, I don’t think I’ve had to walk more than 10 minutes to find one—yet I’ve spent many minutes fretting over it. Why? Because I opened the app too early.
When you know you’ll need a car in two days, one day, a few hours, one hour, it’s tempting to keep checking. “What’s available now? Will it reassure me that a car will be available later?” I used to check many times before I’d actually leave the house, but that’s not how it works. On demand means on demand. All I got was worry, anxiousness, and FOMO.
If the available stock was plentiful when I checked, I would get nervous about it dwindling before I was ready. If there were few cars on the map, I’d worry about them running out altogether. No matter the status quo, it can’t help you when your problem lies in the future. So why bother? Leave the app alone. Only open it once you need it.
This extends to many other apps which I’ve spent hours staring at for no reason at all. Social media. News. Portfolio trackers. Five minutes here, five minutes there. It adds up. Yet if I don’t want entertainment, news on a particular subject, or to invest or cash out some money, all I’ll get is anxious thoughts and some regret about opening the app in the first place.
Everyone gets caught in the distraction mouse trap at times. But whenever you can resist, don’t open the app too early. Engage life’s challenges neither sooner nor later than they show up on your doorstep, and trust you’ll be ready when you meet them.
